Slowly, year by year, things just keep getting better for Ian Burson. Nelson’s top super saloon driver went into the weekend’s New Zealand Championship as 3NZ, and thanks to some late gains in the final heat, the “baby faced assassin” left Auckland as 2NZ.
Christchurch’s Mark Osborne was too good yet again and successfully defended his title to be named 1NZ, with Napier’s Steve Flynn – who won the championship in Nelson two years ago – third place after a run off following the final heat.
While there are talks Mark might retire at the end of the season, Ian says the aim for next year will definitely be to take the 1NZ title for the first time, but he wants to do it by beating the two-time champion. “We’re always gunning for 1NZ but Mark is just about impossible to beat,” says Ian. “I don’t really want to win it like that just because he’s retired, I’d rather win it because we had the better car.”
The Wakefield man says considering the calibre of drivers, second place was a career highlight. “It’s probably the biggest entry list they’ve had in the last 10 years. There were 44 cars entered so to be 2NZ is really good. We had to work so hard for it.”
The new 2NZ will now turn his attention to the six round ELF Super Cup Series which he came agonisingly close to winning last year.
